The Assassin's Tale (Isle of Dreams) (67 page)

‘I thought of
that too,’ agreed Phantasm, moving closer to speak without being
overheard.  ‘I’m sure they won’t believe our Lieutenants have carried out
Master Sphinx’s orders either and will naturally head to the last place we ran
into the pack, which was over there –’ he pointed to the treeline sweeping
further around to the east.  ‘Actually, I had hoped that we would all end
up hunting together.  I can only see danger in small groups hunting the
same prey.  If we aren’t taken out by our supposed prey or by the elves
then we’ll probably end up accidently shooting each other.’

Fabian nodded
and gazed with narrowed eyes across the white landscape, ‘Probably part of
Leo’s plan … force you to unify despite his orders.  It’s the type of
concept Training Captains believe in.’

Phantasm eyed
him coolly, ‘And you don’t?’ 

‘I’m used to
working alone.’

‘Not anymore.’

Fabian glanced
over at where Mistral was talking with Phantom and his expression
softened. 

‘No, not
anymore.’

They mounted
up and rode slowly across the meadow, heading for the treeline but all the
while checking the unbroken snow around them for any signs of activity.

‘Here!’ 
Phantom called, reining in and pointing down to his left.  ‘Those are
definitely Grendel’s tracks!’  he frowned, suddenly disappointed. 
‘Damn.  They’re not fresh.’

They all
looked down at the deep imprints half-filled with snow from the previous
night’s fall. 

‘It’d stopped
snowing by the time we went to sleep last night,’ said Phantasm.  ‘I
remember looking out of the doors onto the balcony and seeing the stars.’

‘So they
passed this way before midnight,’ said Fabian thoughtfully.  ‘There’s a
small settlement in the forests about an hour’s ride from here.  They may
have been heading for that.’

They followed
Grendel’s tracks into the treeline.  There was less snow on the ground
under the cover of the trees and it became harder to follow the trail. 
Fabian dismounted to study each patch of snow that had drifted through the
heavy spread of branches, searching for any evidence of the apprentices passing
through that way. 

‘This is not so
good,’ he murmured, peering closely at the snow.

‘What is
it?’  Mistral dismounted and led Cirrus over to where Fabian was knelt
beside a low drift of snow.

The twins came
over to join them and Fabian pointed to several clear sets of large paw prints
in the snow.

‘These are
fresh.  The wolverines are following Grendel’s scent.  It’s powerful
enough to linger for days, even in cold conditions such as these.’

‘The
wolverines are hunting Grendel, Xerxes, and Brutus,’ said Phantasm
grimly.  

Fabian nodded
and continued to study the snowdrift.

‘I hope they
made it to that settlement last night,’ said Mistral, peering cautiously into
the trees around them.

‘I hope
they’re still there,’ Phantom muttered. 

‘So do I,’
said Fabian quietly.  ‘The elves are following them too.’

Mistral swore
under her breath and moved quickly over to where Fabian was indicating. 
She could just about make out a slight indentation in the snow, no more than a
slight flattening in the shape of a semi-circle.

‘Elves wear
soft boots made of hide with soles that leave almost no mark.  For some
reason this elf was careless.  They have excellent woodcraft; it’s unusual
for one to leave such a clear track.’

‘Unless they
wanted us to find it,’ said Phantasm darkly.

‘Leading us
into a trap is always a possibility,’ Fabian nodded and narrowed his
eyes.  ‘Either way, it means that our hunt just became more
complicated.  However, I feel we have no choice but to follow this trail
since we have seen no other tracks offering us an alternative.’

They mounted
up and followed the direction of the three different sets of prints: the elves
following the wolverines, both hunting the apprentices. 

‘We’re still
heading directly for the settlement,’ said Fabian while they rode at a slow walk
through the trees.  ‘We should reach it soon.’

Mistral felt
her heart quicken slightly, wondering if they would find the other apprentices
there.  Or would they be out in the forests somewhere, being hunted by two
sets of predators?

The settlement
soon came into view between the heavy trunks of the oak trees.  It was no
more than a few simple houses built from logs all gathered around a larger
single storey building.  Smoke billowed from the stone chimney set in the
roof, indicating that someone was inside.

They reined
their horses to a halt at the edge of the tiny settlement and looked around for
any signs of life.  A fenced enclosure next to the long building held a
few horses nibbling at the sparse winter grass.

‘That’s
Venus.  She’s Cain’s horse,’ said Mistral, recognising the dappled grey
mare.

‘And that’s
Saul’s!’  Phantom exclaimed pointing to a bay. 

‘It looks like
they’re all here!’  Grinning suddenly Mistral swung herself down the
saddle.  ‘Let’s go find them!’

Leaving their
horses in the enclosure they made their way over to the long building, looking
around curiously at the empty settlement.  No-one had appeared to question
their arrival, yet it was apparent that this was a lived in settlement.

‘Where are all
the villagers?’  Phantom asked with a frown.

‘It’s a cold
winter’s day in small forest community, where do you think they’re all going to
be?’  Fabian asked with a smile as they reached the door of the building.

The twins
shared a look and grinned, ‘In the tavern!’

Fabian nodded
and opened the door, stepping aside politely to allow Mistral to enter
first.  She stepped through the doorway and into the smoke-filled gloom of
the tavern and was immediately greeted by a chorus of happy shouts.

‘What took you
so long?’  Xerxes cried.  ‘We thought you’d actually taken Leo to his
word and died of cold in the forests!’

Mistral
grinned once her eyes had adjusted enough to make out Xerxes, Brutus, Cain,
Saul and the unmistakable bulk of Grendel stood at a long bar on the other side
of the room.

‘We’ve been
waiting for you since last night!’  Brutus grinned, sliding four brimming
tankards along the bar top as she approached.  ‘Saul thought you’d
actually gone off to hunt those mangy mutts without us and wanted to go and
find you, but we persuaded him that even you weren’t that reckless!’

‘Where did you
three stay then?’  Xerxes asked conversationally while he took a drink
from his tankard.  ‘We stayed here and taught the locals a thing or two
about cards,’ he winked at Mistral and patted his shirt pocket where the
outline of a full money pouch could clearly be seen.

‘Mage De
Winter kindly offered us floor-space,’ said Phantom, reaching for his tankard
and taking a grateful swallow.  ‘Ugh.  Cider!’ he choked.  ‘That
brings back memories.’

Mistral took a
cautious sip then pulled a face similar to Phantom’s.  It was horribly
like the rough, sweet cider that Brothertoft had brewed. 

‘This hunt is
going to be a bit chaotic if they’ve been on this stuff all day,’ she murmured
to Fabian once he joined her at the bar, sliding his arm around her waist and
reaching for his tankard.

‘Ah, now this
is more like it,’ said Xerxes, raising his tankard in a toast.  ‘Here’s to
hunting down those damned wolverines once and for all and to never having to
listen to Barak shouting at us on a Monday morning ever again!’

While the
apprentices cheered and raised their tankards, joining him in a raucous toast
to the end of a long year of gruelling training, Mistral sighed and took a
half-hearted sip from her tankard.

‘It will be all
right you know,’ Fabian murmured, tightening his arm around her waist
fractionally.  ‘We can get through next year.  Then you’ll just have
to suffer a lifetime with me.’

Mistral looked
into his soulful gaze and smiled wistfully, ‘One lifetime won’t be enough.’

‘Sorry to
interrupt, but I need to speak with Mistral.’

Mistral looked
up, surprised.  Saul was standing beside her with a guarded expression on
his face.

‘Please. 
Be my guest,’ Fabian murmured, releasing her and leaning back against the bar.

‘Can I talk to
you for a moment?’  Saul asked her quietly when she made no move to leave
Fabian’s side.

Mistral glared
at him.  After the way he had spoken to her yesterday she wasn’t sure
whether she wanted to speak to him or hit him.

He flinched at
the stoniness of her expression, ‘I know you’re angry, but please let me
explain Mistral.’

He turned away
and walked to a table, pulling out a stool for her before taking one himself.

Mistral
glanced at Fabian before she sat down.  His body language was relaxed
while he leaned against the bar, appearing to listen to whatever Phantasm was
saying but Mistral could see that his eyes weren’t leaving Saul’s face.

‘I’m sorry
about yesterday but I don’t think you realise that Golden was listening to
every word you were saying.’

Mistral’s eyes
snapped up to his, ‘Why the hell should that have mattered!’

‘Because she
hates you Mistral!  She would have gone running straight to Leo and told
him what you’d said to me, anything to try and get rid of you and get back into
his bed!  So I had to say what I did to make her think that we didn’t have
this planned.’

‘And just when
were you going to let us in on your plan?’  Mistral demanded icily. 
‘I was actually worried about you lot last night!  I thought you were all
sleeping in the damned forests in your cloaks, not living it up and robbing
some poor villagers blind at cards!’

Saul recoiled
slightly from the fury in her eyes, ‘I came straight down to the stables to
find you but you’d already left!’ he spread his hands out in a helpless
gesture.  ‘I guessed you’d be furious with me and have stormed out but I
didn’t know where you’d gone,’ he shot a dark glance in Fabian’s direction
before turning back to face her.  ‘You’re so head-strong that I was
worried you’d go off on your own, even leaving the twins if they refused to do
what you wanted.  But Cain managed to convince me that even you weren’t
quite that foolhardy and we agreed to wait here, hoping you’d find Grendel’s
tracks and follow them.’ 

Mistral
glowered at him while she considered what he’d said.  She had to admit he
was right.  She had been furious with him and stormed off.  She
sighed, realising that once again her emotions had been her downfall. 
Because of her anger she and the twins had left before anyone else was even
ready, giving them no chance to speak at the stables, and they would have no
idea where to find her even if they had rightly guessed that she’d gone to
Fabian’s house.  Only she and the twins knew where he lived. 

‘So, this
plan, when did you all come up with it?’ she finally asked, regarding him
coolly. 

‘In The Cloak
the night before.  But you didn’t stick around for long enough to hear it,
and the twins left soon after you did.  We thought we’d catch up with you
either at breakfast or in the stables before we left, but, well ... let’s just
say that things didn’t work quite out as I’d hoped,’ he shrugged and smiled
ruefully, giving her distinct impression that he wasn’t talking about the plan
for the hunt. 

‘Saul.’
 Mistral’s voice fell to a whisper.  ‘I swear I never knew – ’

‘I know you
didn’t.’  Saul interrupted.  ‘Because I never found the right moment
to tell you.  It’s my fault not yours Mistral.  I left it too late –’

‘Stop
Saul.’  Mistral frowned and shook her head.  ‘It’s over.  Done
with.’       

Saul glanced
at Fabian, meeting his black gaze briefly before turning back to Mistral.

‘You’ll always
be important to me Mistral.’

Mistral took
hold of her tankard and rose to her feet, ‘And you to me brother.’   

Saul smiled
sadly, watching her walk back to Fabian. 

‘Right! 
If I can have your attention!’  Xerxes shouted above the growing noise in
the tavern.  ‘We need to finalise the details and get out there! 
Time and wolverines wait for no man!’

A ragged cheer
went up from the apprentices and Mistral found herself smiling.  She was
going to miss their endless enthusiasm for hunting and having a good
time. 

‘You do know
that the wolverines and the elves have tracked you here, don’t you?’ 
Phantasm asked.

Xerxes nodded and
grinned, ‘All part of the plan brother!  Why d’you think we had Grendel
leave such a clear trail?  It wasn’t just for your benefit!  We
thought we’d go out in style – wolverines and elves together!’

Mistral looked
at him and frowned.  Xerxes tended to be over-confident but today he
seemed to be radiating a sense of self-belief that made her think he had
something up his sleeve.

‘Xerxes? 
Do you and your brother have Elven Song?’  she asked suddenly.

Brutus laughed
and Xerxes gave her another confident grin, ‘Worked out what drove the
wolverines away last time did you?’

‘Not me. 
The twins.’  Mistral replied with a grin. 

‘Might have
known they’d work it out!  We wanted to keep our little gift quiet in case
you thought we used it to cheat at cards –’

‘Which we’d
never do!’  Brutus cut in with a look of mock outrage on his face.

‘Oh, this
explains so much,’ said Cain, raising his eyebrows sharply.

‘You can talk,
cheating hob!’

‘Now,
now!  There’s no need for name-calling!’  Cain retorted with a grin.

‘If we can
please focus!’  Xerxes shouted over the banter.  ‘Now, as I was
saying, once my brother and I heard the lovely Leo tell us that crossbow bolts
and arrows weren’t particularly effective on the wolverines we realised that
they must have been repelled by the Elven Song we heard that night in the
meadow – and we came up with our this, our master plan!’